The Pennsylvania House of Representatives approved an amendment to the Pennsylvania statutes, which would deem any benevolent gesture or admission of fault made by a healthcare provider prior to the start of a medical professional liability action inadmissible as evidence of liability or as evidence of an admission of interest. The proposed amendment is commonly referred to as the “Benevolent Gesture” legislation. The intent of the legislation is to promote an open dialogue between families and healthcare providers that usually does not occur because of the concern of how those statements from the healthcare providers could be used in a lawsuit. The next step in enacting the “Benevolent Gesture” legislation into law is approval from the Pennsylvania Senate. If enacted into law, apologies and compassionate statements made by healthcare providers prior to the filing of a lawsuit will not be admissible to use against the healthcare providers.
